Origins of the Franciscan Order

Chapter III: First Crises and Attempts to Overcome Them

Chapter III FIRST CRISES AND ATTEMPTS TO OVERCOME THEM The life of the Friars Minor at the beginning of their Order was not only novel and without precedent, but difficult and onerous, too, in many respects. Not surprisingly, therefore, many who in the first fire of enthusiasm took up this life later found it a heavy burden. That they. lacked at first the stability a fixed abode would have given them made the burden all the heavier. Moreover , Francis, who had renounced all worldly securities to follow unerringly his unique and lofty calling, was large-hearted in accepting new friars. Of no small importance in aggravating the situation was the fact that in the first decade all newcomers were accepted into the Order immediately and permanently without any term of probation whatever. These factors did not have adverse consequences so long as the dominant figure of St. Francis continued to be the living, rallying point of the young fraternity, and while the radiant enthusiasm of his personal inspiration made light of all difficulties. But as the number of the friars grew and their personal contact with the Saint as with the authentic forma minorum gradually became more' difficult or even completely impossible, many faults began to appear.' With the growing number of friars the 137 138 Origins of the Franciscan Order bonds that had held the new Order together proved to be patently insufficient, urging the need for reorganization and reform. Such facts as these must be given careful consideration if we want to do justice to the early history of the Order as a whole, as well as to certain particular aspects of it. . 1. Abuses within the Order At the outset, one must recognize that"abuses" do not constitute a suitable theme for medieval legends or, as a rule, for chronicles either. At most, they touch on them in passing, and then, perhaps, only to highlight the virtues of the saints. For . this reason, we must proceed with all caution in the present part of our inquiry. We must also bear in mind that writers outside the Order tend to consider more the external difficulties, while the Franciscan sources emphasize those that are internal. Both groups of witnesses complement each other, by and large, helping to fill in a consistent picture. a) The Absence of Conventual Life As early as the Spring of 1220, James of Vitry, the great friend of the young Order, pointed to the absence of local stability and of an appropriate term of probation as the root of many evils: "But. this Order seems to us very dangerous, because all, not merely the mature among them, but even the young and immature who should be tried and tested for a time by conventual discipline , are sent out two by two all over the world" (G).' In this remark, which reveals the author's very real apprehension, the lack of a proper "conventual life" (conventualis disciplina) is seen for the first time as harmful to the young Order. In complete agreement with this view of James of Vitry is the almost contemporary statement of Buoncompagni the Rhetor: "The Friars Minor in part are mere youths and boys. If, then, the flexibility of their years makes them changeable and fickle, this in only to be expected. However, they have gone to extremes of madness, since they wander about cities and towns and solitary places imprudently, enduring horrible and inhuman sufferings" (J).' In his view, both their vagrant existence and general way of life, intolerable to the average man, appear as ominous defects . First Crises and Attempts to Overcome Them 139 Another testimony of James of Vitry, which, for all its rhetoric still reveals genuine concern for the Franciscan movement he valued so highly, has much the same import: "This Order of perfection and the extent of its spacious cloister (spatiosi claustri amplitudo) does not appear to suit the weak and immature; for if they go down to the sea in ships and labor in many waters, they may be overwhelmed by the waves and the storms, unless they have first remained in the city until they be endowed with virtue from on high" (H). James rightly sees that the "cloister" of the Friars Minor is the wide world, and - as in his letter from Damietta (G) - he considers this an ideal only for those who have proved themselves. His concern, however, which he discreetly...